The mission, goals, and values of the College provide a foundation for identifying and maintaining appropriate curricula in its diploma, certificate, and degree programs. Consistent with the North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS) mission of offering open door access to high quality educational opportunities (1), the College mission includes the objectives of offering high quality, innovative instruction and support to its students. The College accomplishes its mission through customer focus, continuous improvement, and teamwork to “awaken the potential of each student, offering multiple pathways for learning what is important to know and to do – giving coherence and meaning to the total educational experience” (2).

The mission of the College is supported by the pursuit of institutional goals which include seeking excellence in learning and teaching for transfer, vocational and technical education; maintaining a nurturing learning environment; and proactively identifying, acquiring, and maintaining College resources in support of its mission and vision (3). The faculty have identified their values for teaching excellence as ideals for effective teaching and learning in their curriculum programs (4).

Curricula for diploma, certificate, and degree programs are examined at the system, institution, and program level to assure a direct and appropriate relationship to their purpose and goals.

The College adheres to the curriculum standards approval and review process required by North Carolina’s General Statutes (5), the North Carolina Administrative Code (NCAC) (6), and criteria established by the state Board of Community Colleges (7). This process requires that the College offer only approved degree programs from the NCCCS’ Curriculum Program Groups (8), which are consistent with the mission of the system. Each degree program offered by the College is structured by a curriculum standard approved by the state Board of Community Colleges. Each curriculum standard delineates the minimum and maximum credit hours, and the number of “general education,” “major hours,” and “other major hours” required for the program of study. Each of the 47 associate degree, 14 diploma, and 28 certificate programs offered by the College (9) reflects a course of study that is consistent with the requirements of the related state curriculum standard (10).

The College must gain approval from the state Board of Community Colleges in order to offer a program of study that includes degree, diploma, or certificate options. This approval process requires the submission of a detailed curriculum program application (11). A component of this application requires that the College demonstrate how the curriculum program is related to the mission of the College (12). The college must also certify the following when submitting a curriculum application:

While the NCCCS provides central oversight to the structure and approval of all degree programs, it defers to individual colleges the responsibility for proposing and adopting programs relevant to their local missions:

The SCC Board of Trustees approves all curriculum programs offered at the College (15). The Constitution and Bylaws of the local board specifies that, “The objective of the Board of Trustees shall be to assure that Southwestern Community College accomplishes its mission (16).” The board’s duties in assuring that the College accomplishes its mission include the responsibility to “establish and disestablish programs and courses of instruction offered and conducted by Southwestern Community College. Authority for such actions may be delegated to the Chief Administrative Officer of the College subject to the approval of the Board of Trustees. (17)”

The College’s Curriculum and Instruction Committee is responsible for reviewing matters related to the operation of the College's educational (curriculum) programs. Some of the specific duties of the committee are to make recommendations regarding the approval of new programs, the approval of curriculum revisions for existing programs and to provide guidance/positions on related academic matters (18 & 19).

The College’s planning and institutional effectiveness process (20) requires the development of specific program missions and goals for each diploma, certificate, and degree program offered at the College (21). Each curriculum program has a mission statement developed by a faculty program coordinator that is consistent with the College mission, that further sets forth the reason for the program’s existence, and is descriptive of the program’s role within the overall College.

Program coordinators also develop annual goals for their curriculum programs to support the furtherance of program and College missions. Each of the goals developed for curriculum programs are explicitly linked to related and appropriate College goals and values for teaching excellence.

The 2004-2005 Planning/Outcomes Document for the Surveying Technology degree program provides an example of the annual process of relating curriculum program goals to institutional goals that support the College’s mission (22). One of the goals (number 3) is that program majors be able to demonstrate technical proficiency in the surveying field. That goal is consistent with the mission of the surveying program “to educate surveying technicians in the basic principles of Land Surveying, establish them in the techniques and procedures practiced by the Land Surveying profession.” As illustrated on the planning/outcomes document, that goal is further linked to the College goal of seeking excellence in learning and teaching for transfer, vocational and technical education and to several values for teaching excellence.